Manchester United to spend a record 37 million in Juan Mata swoop

The big transfer story has been the apparent movement in the Juan Mata transfer saga as Manchester United are believed to have prepared a club record bid for the unsettled Spanish international.

An offer of course does not constitute an agreement but it would certainly test the waters of resolve for a player who is out of favour and will probably want to move to improve his chances of selection for the World Cup. Chelsea on the other hand may not want to weaken their squad in the winter with a lot of games ahead unless they already have a replacement in mind.

Mata has been limited to just 11 Premier League starts and since his angry reaction to being substituted in the second half against Southampton on New Years Day has not made a single appearance for the club. Jose Mourinho seems to have settled for the Hazard, Oscar and Willian combination behind a single striker so Mata will be keen to move to a club where he will gain first team football with the World Cup looming.

Manchester United however are not known for knee-jerk January transfers due to lower than expected league positions although in recent times they have never really experienced Champions League qualification concerns. Juan Mata however is an exceptionally talented player with World and European credentials who would certainly fit the bill, providing a skilful attacking playmaker much like Rooney.

It’s tempting to speculate that perhaps there has been a change of policy at Manchester United and Chelsea with regards to selling players to league rivals which may pave he way for Rooney moving in the Summer despite an emphatic “No” to the question of will they sell Mata. Mourniho also suggest that United would likely sell the player they covet, a certain Wayne Rooney to a foreign club should a contract agreement not be agreed.